Book-binding



March 26, 1935. D. H, ADAMsoN 1,995,596

BOOKBINDING Filed July 17, 1954 Patented Mar. 26, 1935 UNITED vSTATESPATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

5 the book is open.

In attempting to attain this end it has been found that bindingmeansinvolving sewing, wiring, or stapling have proved too rigid forideal results. It has been attempted to employ as binding elements aseries of individually isolated relatively loose pieces of tape orstring passing through marginal transverse holes in the leaves of thestack, with the result that Vin actual use the opening of the book toits fullest extent has caused the inner adjacent edges of the oppositelypositioned sheets or pages of the stack to abut against each other in ahorizontal plane or to even assume an obtuse angle, in either of whichcases an attempt to close the book has resulted in causing the abuttingsheets to buckle or become permanently set, and to rst bring a breakingstrain upon one or more of the tapes, and sometimes to cause the latterto tear out from the holes through which the tapes passed thusdestroying the margins of the stack pages, or t break away from theirends at the cover of the book. Even when the strain is insufficient tocause breakage it so strains the tape as to permanently stretch thelatter and thus make them inoperative because of slack material.

Essential objects of my invention are to overcome all the above reciteddisadvantages; to provide novel binding elements; to insure suchelements against stretching, loosening, while at the same timeperforming with smoothness and certainty the function of guides for thesheets or pages; and to securely anchor the binding guide elements attheir ends.

Additional objects are to facilitate and simplify the binding operation,and attain the desired ends in an exceedingly inexpensive structure.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, theinvention consists of an arrangement of parts more fully disclosed inthe detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing, and more specifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

' In the drawing,

Figures 1 and 2 are elevations of the upper and lower binding elementsrespectively of my novel book,

Figures 3 and 4, a top and bottom perspective view respectively of thesheet stack with the binding elements interlocked thereon preparatory toattachment with the book cover, a, portion of one of the binding,elements being shown broken away in Figure 3,

Figure 5, a fragmentary sectionof the complete book in closed positiontaken on a line corresponding with line 5-5 of Figure 3,

Figure 6, a partial fragmentary section of the same taken on line 6-6 ofFigure 5, and

Figure 7, a section of the book in open or distended position taken on aline corresponding 10 with the sectional line of Figure 5, one coverbeing in dropped position.

The binding operation, as herein disclosed, is initiated by superposinga plurality of sheets or pages 10 into a pad or stack 11 which may, ifdesired, have applied to the rear edges of its constituent sheet edges alayer 12 of flexible gum or cement, either alone or combined with atextile fabric as usual.

The pile has now formed therein by punching or drilling a series ofaligned elongated marginal slots 13 interspaced from each other andspaced from the rear edge of the pile with which it is parallel. Theslots extend through the pile, and in'this instance are four in number.

Two binding elements 16 and 17, preferably of a textile fabric such asbuckram, are now assembled in interlocked relation to each other uponthe top and bottom of the pile respectively. In detail the element 16comprises an oblong strip 18 with a plurality of integral parallel flatfingers 19 extending laterally from one margin of the strip. The fingersare interspaced from each other distances corresponding to theinterspacing of the slots 13, and are spaced from its marginal edge adistance equal to that of the slots from the back edge of the pile.

The marginal or inset positioning of the integral ends of the -ngers isdue to inwardly directed slits 20 continuous with the side edges of thefingers pierced when the member 16 was originally cut from a blank. Theinset location of the fingers produce resultant marginal rectangularrecesses 21, and makes possible the registration of the inset ngers 19into the slots 13.

The pliable ngers 19 are bent and passed as a sliding t through theslots 13 and through several oblong slots 24 formed in one of thelateral margins of the oblong binding strip 17 with which slots 13 theslots 24 severally register. The ends of the fingers, after passingthrough the slots 24, are folded down upon the outer face of the stripforming overlapping or folded portions 25 secured to the outer face ofthe strip 17 by an adhesive in any desired manner. In the presentinstance the entire outer face 27 of the strip 18, and the entire outerface 28 of the strip 17, are dry gummed, so that adhesion of the tongueportions 25 are effected by moistening the adjacent portions of thestrip 17. When the strips 16 and 17 are not commercially gummed adhesionmay be less conveniently effected by the use of a liquid glue or cement,as at 30.

The above described book is now a unit adapted for temporary storage andtransportation until it is applied to any desired cover. The strips 18and 17 form a reinforcefor the top and bottom of the sheet stack 11against which the strips are temporarily held in snug contact by theinterlocking folded fingers.

The unit may be applied with facility to a cover of any usual or desiredconstruction. The cover herein shown comprises the top and bottom boards32 and 33 respectively, and the flexible back 34. The mounting of theunit 11 upon the cover is effected by moistening the gummed faces 27 and28 of the strips 18 and 17 respectively, when gummed strips are used,and pressing said faces upon the boards 32 and 33 respectively at eitherside of the back 34. Obviously a liquid gum or cement is employed forthis purpose if the strips are notprovided with adhesive surfaces. The

'thickness of the binding elements 16 and 17 are shown ofexaggeratedthickness in Figures 4 and for clearness of illustration.

It 'will be observed that the connection of the fingers 19 by the strip18 distributes the strain upon the latter-and renders individualfracture unlikely; that the bends of the fingers at the points ofpassing through the slots 24 of the strip 17 serve to frictionally clampthe ngers Aagainst longitudinal slippage in addition to the retention ofthe portions 25 by an adhesive. By reason of the permanently fixedcharacter of both ends of the fingers the intermediate portions of thelatter when the book is fully opened assume a uniform and definite shapewhich insures a uniform and facile travel of the leaves upon the ngers.Thus no clogging of the movement of the leaves results as would occur ifslack were present.

In the present structure when the book is in closed position the coverback 34 engages or fits the back of the sheet stack instead of beingspaced therefrom, a defect heretofore present in the at opening type ofbooks.

The construction of my book and assemblage of its constituent parts iseffective, expeditious, and inexpensive in the highest degree.

I claimz- 1. In a flat opening book, two cover boards, a stack providedwith a series of transversely disposed aligned marginal slots, a iexiblestrip engageable with one side of the stack and fixed to one board, astrip engageable with the other side of the stack fixed to thesecondboard and provided with `slots registering with the first slots,and aplurality of interspaced guide fingers integral with the first striptraversing both the rst and second slots and terminating in foldsoverlapping the second strip.

2. In a flat opening book, a stack provided with aligned interspacedelongated marginal slots, a marginal strip engageable with one side ofthe stack and fixed to one boa-rd, a marginal strip engageable with theother side of the stack'4 and xed to the second board, and provided with'eloxigated lmarginal slots registering with the `ii-rst slots, and flatpliable fingers integral with the first strip and 'inset from the edgethereof passing through both the first and second slots and includingfolds fixed to the second strip.

. 3. In a fiat opening book, two cover boards, a stack provided with aslot adjacent one side thereof and intermediate the ends thereof, astrip of flexible material on one side of the vstack having a slotaligned with the stack slot, and a second strip of exible material onthe other side of the stack extending to the end of the stack and havinga finger cut back to be passed through the slots of the stack and thefirst strip, said second strip being secured to one cover board and saidfirst strip to the othercover board, said rst strip also locking thefree end of said finger to the other cover board.

4. In a flat opening book, two cover boards, a stack provided with aplurality of spaced slots adjacent one side thereof and intermediate theends thereof, a'strip of flexible material on one side of the stackhaving spaced slots aligned with the DAVID H. ADAMsoN.

